The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1887-04-20

Just then the door of large house facing
the square opened, and there came out an
elderly man, to whom the young girl at once
made a complaint.
ooh, papa, frankie has been throwing
snowballs again, and Pm afraid this gentle
man is hurt"
bad boy-must apologize-where's the
gentleman" / caught these words and
drew near, not because of them, but because
recognizedin the father of my small enemy
Pennington, the publisher.
Have Haven't lat least | believe ]
have seen you before he said.
You have" | answered, trying my
pinched and shaky best to look him through
and through. I've called at your office
about twenty times to recover manuscript"
Mr.. Pennington began to edge away, and
after putting little distance between us be
asked: ''Is your address unchanged2" /
nodded sternly He said to his daughter,
Goodbye, Pussy" and then coming back
and touching my sleeve with an inquiring
forefnger he remarked, examining my face:
''You look rather-rather-pale. Are you
troubled h-with-dyspepsia2
i returned to Mr. Pennington's question
gunshot of "nol' and then raising my hat
stiffiy to the young girl passed on, bitterly
resenting my position, yet proudly satisfied
that nobody could suspect from my look or
demeanor that | was suffering the pangs of
hunger. At the same time was rejecting
absurd little nickname!"
Cold and famished / walked the streets;
cold and famished toward afternoon ] went
to my fireless room and sat down to decide
what sort of brute labor / should apply for.
Pride was fairly starved out, and Twas ready
for anything to appease the fiend of empti-
ness. By chance my eye fell upon the table;
a letter lay there. Iopened it, and the words
that set my brain whirling were these:
''There is a clerkship now vacant in our
lower salesroom. By presenting this you
can secure the place. Yours, &C., \
"LEMUEL PENNINGTON"
Judge whether l did secure it. Judge
whether / eagerly threw myself into the
work and came home every evening in Q re-
landlady. Ned Russell was delighted in
sympathy but with his usual acuteness he
advised me:
keep your eye on that Bell
But the house was so large, the depart
ments so various and the employees so nu-
merous that six months passed and / had
never seen Bell, except the few times when
he had CHANGED to walk through the sales
room. Always with downcast or restlessly
wandering eyes, and generally with bowed
head, he looked like creature under some
wicked spell. He had not been very longin
with the firm, and not man down stairs
knew him.
At last, after years service with Pen-
nington d Co., came some events Of the sort
that invest the most meagre history of the
most meagre life with a little glory. My
love story began in this wise
Mr.. Pennington was i'll and had to carry
some papers to his house. Wishing to make
some memoranda he called out toward the
open door leading into an adjoining room:
Pussy, bring my inkstand."
"Yes, papa was the answer. Eyes,
papa, II bring it to you" Presently Pussy
came into the room, balancing the pen in
one hand and demurely looking down at
the ink carried in an open glass stand in
the other. She came very carefully, very
steadily, with grave little. mockery of re-
sponsibility lurking about her lips. had
seen Pussy before-twice before. had re-
membered her, aforementioned her, so to
speak, with my mind. / knew Just how
pink her chin was; Just how brown in the
Shadow and golden in the sunlight the
pretty, clear line of her eyebrows; just what
q waxen little nose she had, what pearls of
teeth, and what a willowy figure. But from
that minute, when she crossed the sunshiny
room, watching the treacherous burden in
her hand, then as she reached us and put it
safely down, looking up with playful
triumph--from that minute | remembered
Pussy with my heart. Why from that mo-
ment / can't tell. Possibly because-but
who ever found logic for love? While life
lasts, when / shall have grown a trembling.
gray old man, so / shall see her always--so
in the morning sunshine coming toward me
slowly, steadily, then looking up with a
bright smile. And after this worlds sights
and sounds are over I'll ask no fairer vision
than the dear figure coming toward me once
again, no purer joy than such warmth, such
hope, such ecstasy as woke that day in my
boyish heat